This may seem a strange request for a fantasy game but I will explain my motives in a minute. I would like to ask the developers if it would be possible to have a setup function with choices something like this: A) A heavy magic world B) A medium magic world C) A light magic world D) No magic at all

Since the magic in this game comes in a certain number of spells (is that correct?) each of the above choices would just disable a certain percentage of them. Now, why? What I love in games like this are the imaginary geography (IG), imaginary nations/tribes/ect, and imaginary units. I get very tired of playing every wargame on a map set on earth, usually Europe. Games with an IG offer brand new geostrategic problems to work with, as well as new nations and units. This has further good points.

First, most historically based wargames are unbalanced because the actual war was unbalanced. It was the exception rather than the rule that wars have been fought by two more or less equally strong sides. But on a fantasy world, whether it is a medieval one like here or a modern one featuring tanks, planes and other such weapons, this problem does not present itself. Second, the time factor. I also get very tired in strategic games that are based on history of really enjoying the game and then being told, 'time's up, game over'. Fantasy based games with IG and nations can be open ended and go on as long as you like. It would be wonderful if some of the makers of all the fine wargames based on Napoleon or WWI and WWII would make games using the same game systems but set on imaginary geography's and nations. But I can see nothing save Advanced Tactics, which while a fine and fun game, lacks all the diplomacy, economics, politics ect. of a true strategy game. So we are really left with the fantasy games which, if you cut out the magic, are good medieval strategy games with interesting new nations, armies and peoples. So if the above setup choice is possible, please include it.

Forgot to put the main reason I don't like magic in fantasy games. Magic is too much of a deus ex machina. I hate to have superior strategy or tactics come to nought just because the enemy has a strong spell to throw.

I like your idea but it's possible that the game is far enough along that it wouldn't be able to be integrated. It would be nice if the developers would give us an idea of how much magic is in the game using your above levels. This game looks very interesting and I look forward to seeing the developers give us more information about it.

Realm Spells: These are gathered energies cast by cabals, towers of magic, druid's groves or court wizards. They may affect a province or an entire realm. They may affect a Unit or a Stack. The most powerful Realms Spells affect all realms globally.

While this may seem ultra powerful at first glance, Realm Spells are really "shifters of balance" rather than, "I'm blowing up your army so I don't have to have a real strategy." For example, Dwarven Steamworks increases the Economy of a Mountain or Hill province. Sealed Borders prevents movement in and out of a province (both your units, those of your enemy...and trade routes). A global spell might be Winter's Grip, which decreases the recharge time of all Death spells for all realms...whether friendly or not.

In the end then, Realm Spells create some unique conditions and attempt to shift the balance. Each Realm has its own Spell Tree of 10 Spells. You'll never be able to learn all of the Spells on the tree, so you'll have some hard choices to make on what spells will best suit your overall strategy.

Hero Cards: The second type of magic is with Hero Cards. During Tactical battles, Heroes are not treated as units. Instead they are treated similar to a spell, a "card" to play at some point during battle to gain some advantage. Tactics and the units you bring to battle are always dominant; however, a Hero Card played at a key moment can help you gain an edge.

For example, you may have a Mercenary Captain leading a Stack. During the Tactical Battle, you may play the Mercenary Captain card at any point in the battle. Mercenary Captain grants: All Mercenaries you control gain +1 Move and Brave for the next 3 turns.

After a battle, Heroes may also advance a level to become Legendary Heroes. When a Hero does so, you have a choice of which extra ability (extra tactical card) you'd like to assign to your Hero. When the Mercenary Captain becomes a Legendary Hero, you may choose either:

Sea Dog: Until the beginning of your next turn, all Naval Units you control gain +3 Move and Evasion. Campaigner: All Units you control heal 10 Life for every Objective you currently control.

This extra card is in addition to the original card. The choice is yours...

But this is excellent! I had expected the standard sorcerer casts level 9 fireball spell and incinerates enemy army. This is much more sophisticated and interesting. I will not mind playing the game with such a magic system at all. Indeed, the more we hear about this game the better it sounds. Is there even a guess date as to when it will be released?

Love the sound of magic in this title, reminds me of magic use in the old classic fantasy books, Tolkien, REH (Conan), Leiber(of course!) Is there any provision for negative effects for more powerfull realm spells? For example, the "block intruders from entering realm" seems great, until your merchants and peasants realize trade will come to a grinding halt....

Some spells are something of a double-edged sword. Sealed Borders is one example and should be used with care. While no one can enter the targeted province, no one can leave. That means that while the spell is in effect, any units inside the province can't move out (when they might otherwise support other armies). It also means that Trade Routes passing through that province will have to reroute in order to stay active. In our game, Trade Routes are automatically traced from one Capitol to another and must find some way through. A Route can't cross enemy territory, can't cross Sea Zones if you don't have a naval presence, and can't cross "blocked" provinces, such as with Sealed Borders. So unless you're very desperate, avoid casting Sealed Borders on your Capitol. It is however, an excellent spell to cast along a defensive chokepoint, allowing you to concentrate forces elsewhere.

A number of other spells fall into this "double-edged sword" category. Also, it should be noted, casting a negative spell into another realm will decrease its diplomatic relations with you, while casting a positive spell at another realm will always be viewed favorably.

Maybe for your next teaser you could give us a rundown on what the different playable realms are, if those have been finalized yet?

Playable Realms are finalized. We've alluded to a few here in the forums, (Ariselle, Maledor, Sonneneve...) But we'll be featuring the playable realms in a more comprehensive way once we go live with the web site.

A long time ago, we determined to take a "long and deep" strategy on game development. This came at the sacrifice of a "wide" strategy.

By this, I mean that we decided to create a rich fantasy campaign world with 34 unique realms, each with their own culture and play-style, add 400 units, 100 spells, 37 Landmarks, 17 Resources to trade, and 15 Hero classes. We have a campaign game and a tactical game. It's a big game with a lot of replayability. Choosing a new realm not only gives you different things to think about from a geographic position, but also grants you a whole new set of units, spells, resources and heroes.

We think we have something special here.

But we did that at the sacrifice of a feature that is important to a lot of folks, and that is multiplayer. We decided that we had a lot of balls in the air, and that it was important to get single-player right the first time. At some future date, and depending on player reception to Sovereignty and demand for multiplayer, we are open to layering in a feature like that. But for first release, we are going with a dedicated single player game, and we aim to do it right.

But we did that at the sacrifice of a feature that is important to a lot of folks, and that is multiplayer. We decided that we had a lot of balls in the air, and that it was important to get single-player right the first time. At some future date, and depending on player reception to Sovereignty and demand for multiplayer, we are open to layering in a feature like that. But for first release, we are going with a dedicated single player game, and we aim to do it right.

Good Hunting!

Breca

I may buy just because of this. To many games are focused on multiplayers even though everything shows that the vast majority play solo.

Hurray for the game designers here! I am so tired of having games that are not as good as they could be because we have to accomodate the 2-5% of players who do multiplayer. The designers of Galactic Civ II said exactly this and never designer for multiplayer and had superior games. And 76mm, I agree with you completely. It would be great to be able to disable the magic completely. Players either love or dislike magic. I find it irritating and would love a game like this with this option. The more we learn about this game the better it looks.